My Background and Decision to Study Abroad

I'm Anna (or Hanna) and I started my education by attending a regular secondary school. For the first 9 years of my education, I studied at Viktor Hambardzumyan School No. 12. We chose this school because it was close to our home, but I'm very satisfied and grateful that I went there because it was one of those schools with strict teachers and an excellent educational program. Instead of our standard textbooks, we studied old Russian books, which gave me a strong foundation that has taken me quite far.

After finishing 9th grade, I decided to go to high school. I went to Polytechnic High School, which wasn't like a regular high school either. I chose the Engineering stream (curriculum focused on Engineering subjects). I studied there for 3 years, as is typical for high school, but the difference was that we had monthly exams which we took at the university, and we were taught by university professors rather than regular high school teachers. We were prepared as if we were university students - we attended lectures, and our life could be described as that of a college student. Graduating during COVID, I decided not to apply to university in that situation because I thought it would be good to take a break and decide what I wanted to do in the future. Also, I didn't like some subjects, because when I went to high school, we started learning from scratch the subjects we had studied for nine years, which would have continued at university. Avoiding all this, I tried to apply abroad, but that wasn't my only motivation for studying overseas. I wanted to get an education that wasn't available in Armenia. Now, various bachelor's and master's programs are starting to be created, and they're in the testing phase. But at the time when I was applying, there was Yerevan State University with its Faculty of Mathematics and Mechanics, and the American University of Armenia, which had a Department of Engineering and a Department of Computer Science, but none of these interested me.

I wanted to pursue higher education in Robotics or Aerospace Engineering, which still doesn't exist in Armenia. I started my search, which took about 2 years, as I didn't want to settle permanently because studying in another country requires a lot of resources - both financial and time-wise. Because of this, I wanted to enroll in a university either in a hybrid format or distance learning, but I had chosen a field and specialization that is very difficult to do only remotely. I applied and was accepted to several universities in Europe and the USA, but I didn't receive funding. I was lucky to find the university where I'm currently studying. It's private - it is regulated by the government but not directly funded by it. I'm saying this, because I was admitted in a hybrid model, meaning I do some classes remotely and the rest in person, but from January 1, 2025, the hybrid model will no longer be available for new applicants. Therefore, I'm from the last generation at this university who is studying and will graduate with the hybrid option. At the same time, this change has affected us in that the overall graduation process - the exams and thesis we need to submit - are becoming stricter and more complex. If there were several opportunities before and your schedule was quite flexible, this system wouldn't exist now because the German government is against this model.

Required Documents and Funding

I received 75% funding from my university, for which I only needed to provide my high school diploma and proof of my English proficiency.

For admission, you need grades and an English test. Depending on the department, you may need to take either the math section of the SAT or the entire test. I already had an SAT score, which I took without any specific plans. My grades and English level were quite good. For English, I took the Duolingo English Test (DET).

When I first applied to this university, I was rejected for not meeting the document requirements. But half a year later, when I applied again, I was accepted.

Extracurricular Activities

When I was in high school, I used to attend TUMO. I really liked TUMO's approach, friendly environment, freedom, and education. Many people misunderstand education - they think of it as something mandatory to do, but for me, TUMO was a great experience because I was able to integrate into that environment, make many friends, and later start working there. They had a camp where they brought in children from outside and taught them various fields. I was an assistant in the programming department there - sometimes I would lead classes as a substitute for the main specialists, do English translations of papers, and check assignments. When I left TUMO, I started working as a project manager in various IT organizations. That's how my career began.

Honors and Awards

I've participated in various olympiads, and been an honor student for 8-9 years, and when we talk about general academic achievements or small victories, I've had them. But when I think about what has brought me to where I am now, I realize that all of that had no impact, they were just reasons for others to be proud. It's great that there's the concept of being an honor student, there are diplomas and certificates of merit, but you should never think that if you have these, you'll be successful in life, or if you don't have them, you'll be unsuccessful.

Curiosity Towards the Field

When I was little, I used to watch Toy Story and it was one of my favorite cartoons. As I grew up, I always loved abstract cartoons that were about things you can't experience in real life, like talking and moving toys. For example, Buzz Lightyear was very abstract to me because he believed he was an astronaut and could fly.

He had a catchphrase: "To infinity and beyond!" He really wanted to fly to space and become an astronaut, and I always wanted to fulfill his dream. Once, I even asked my physics teacher how I could go to space and take the toy with me. Of course, I didn't get a normal answer.

My interest in space started right there. At some point, I also learned about analog missions, which are the same space missions but conducted on Earth in simulation. For example, if we want to go to the moon, we simulate the moon on Earth and conduct experiments there to reduce risks when we actually go to the moon. I found all of this very interesting, and I researched them for a long time, thinking about how I could join since I'm already in university. When I found out last year that the Austrian Space Forum had come to Armenia, I became very interested, learned that there would be a meeting at TUMO, rushed to TUMO, participated in the meeting, and that's where I met the director. Then, after a very difficult process, I applied and was selected as a team member for ground operations support.

Then I went to where the habitat was located, Armash village, and put on my uniform. It was the best feeling I had experienced in recent times. There were badges on my uniform, but I couldn't find the badge of the Armenian flag. But Gernot Grömer, the director of the Austrian Space Forum, brought and attached the flag to me. That moment is still in my mind.

Then I received an offer to do a mission myself, which started in Krakow, Poland. We stayed there for 1 week in a moon simulation. We stayed in the habitat for 7 days without light, without normal conditions, eating, and working on a strict schedule. During the mission, I was doing research to understand how I could use artificial intelligence to optimize analog missions, but unfortunately, the research remained incomplete because 7 days was too short to collect data.

And so, the Analog Astronaut Training Center announced that I am the first Armenian analog astronaut, based on their data.

With one of the European Space Forum's equipment, called the Vertical Treadmill, I conducted gravity simulation experiments. The gravity changed while walking. I tested the Moon, Mars, Earth, and 2g (slightly lower than Jupiter).

Continuing Education After 2 Gap Years

During my gap year, I worked on various projects, did freelance work, and helped organize IT events. I also volunteered at BarCamp every year.

When I was in my second gap year, I decided:

-Either I start my education and go all the way, or I don't start at all.

In this day and age, you don't need a higher education to make money or achieve something. I was working during my gap years, so I didn't have any problem going to university. However, my goals aligned more with living an academic life, so I decided to start my bachelor's degree—and I need to go all the way to a Ph.D.

The Master's program in engineering requires 2 years of work experience. That's exactly what I'm trying to gain by being an analog astronaut.

Advice

Don't choose a profession in life based on something like money, trendiness, or other factors. In the past, banking was very popular and everyone was entering that field, then medicine became in demand, then programming, and now for example, everyone is a programmer. The day is approaching when engineering is becoming popular and many engineers will gather, some of whom won't be good specialists and will hinder the educated professionals. You shouldn't choose a profession because..., you should choose a profession that you want to progress in and can imagine yourself working in.

Robotics is a very complex field because we learn to sell what we will create in the future, we learn to comply with various standards - both health and technical, and so on, we learn different mathematical calculations and even 3D modeling so that it can be used in society. When you start learning robotics, you can't start working right away. To learn robotics, you need to invest a lot of effort and time, which is very difficult.

You also need to understand that in such professions, you may feel not smart enough, which is the most unpleasant feeling, but it's completely normal because if it were easy, it wouldn't be so interesting.